Dawn's Early Light
by Lea-El
Summary: Luke has a dark friend sitting in on his lessons, who suffers from night terrors because of her past. Updated 8 3 06
1. Chapter 1

**Dawn's Early Light**

**Author:** Lea-El

**Era:** Between ANH and ESB

**Description:** A OC's joining in on Luke's learning to use the Force. This is a challenge from my Master **BrentusofGath** to write a story without Yoda. (Why anyone would want to read a story without Yoda is beyond me.):-P

Disclaimer: Many standard years ago I entered the world of Master Lucas. I have never completely left it, though it does not belong to me. I am just glad that we are allowed to visit our friends there from time to time. Especially since that is usually where my daughter is to be found. If it hadn't been for my Sci-Fi geek husband reading the book, we might never have found our home here.

I would like to thank **BrentusofGath** for beta-ing this for me.

* * *

**DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT**

**Part one:** Terror in the night

Krista wandered the new base, looking for something to do. Her assignments were finished and sleep was the farthest thing from her mind. '_Please, just a minor disaster so I will have something to do_.'

Unfortunately, all the ships were lined up perfectly, the supplies stored and the recruits sound asleep after a long day of maneuvers, everyone except Krista. The threat of the black monster that haunted her dreams kept her moving, kept her searching for things to stave off sleep.

Lately, even awake she could feel the monster closing in on her, feel the cold chill running up her spine as if he was near, more so at night. She checked her chrono. _'Ooh! Six more hours until the wake up alarm brings the base to life. Six more hour of torture.'_

Then she heard the sound again. The sound of their demise, the sound that she would never forget. Before she was aware, she screamed the blood curdling scream only a woman terrorized could produce.

The sound was gone but half the base was soon standing before her and the base alert alarm was blaring. Everyone was looking for the cause of the alarm but all they found was a very embarrassed Krista.

"All right, where's the fire?" the temporary training officer announced. "I warned you, I need my sleep or I'm out of here. Okay Princess, was it you that screamed?"

"No! It wasn't me! Seeing you in the middle of the night is the last thing I would want. Nice drawers! Put some pants on, you're not a Wookie you know," Leia fumed.

Chewie brayed at Han.

"What do you mean I have a hole in my drawers? These are new drawers. Oh! Crap! These are my new drawers." Han inspected the hole to everyone's displeasure.

"Just put your pants on before I hurl," Leia ordered.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?" Luke asked as he joined the group. "Nice drawers Han. Purple hearts, who knew?"

"Don't encourage him or he will run around in them all the time," Leia said, indignant that he was still standing there trying to figure out how he tore the hole in his good drawers.

The base commander joined them and called out in his official voice, "False alarm, everyone go back to bed, everyone but Krista. I have an assignment for you."

He waited for the crowd to filter back into the barracks, then told her, "I want you to sweep and mop the whole hangar. I will be working in my white socks tomorrow and they **will** be clean at the end of the day."

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" She hurried to the supply room and came back with a broom, mop, dust pan and bucket of warm, soapy water and began her arduous task.

_'Be careful what you wish for.'_

Later in the week, she was on guard duty for the third time since her middle of the night wake up call. The base commander decided to put her insomnia to work. She passed a darkened balcony, the same spot that caused her earlier waking terror. Tonight, she heard a voice talking to someone but not getting a response. The voice was kind and not at all terrifying so she approached.

"Luke?" she asked to his surprise. "What are you doing?"

"I... I was practicing my calming exercises, trying to hear the Force," he said matter-of-factly.

"Calming sounds good, but what is the Force?" she asked, puzzled.

"The Force is the energy that binds the galaxy together; if you are calm, it speaks to you," Luke instructed her.

"All I ever hear is ... well it's not good." Krista shivered.

"When you are at peace, it will be," Luke added.

"When I'm at peace I will be dead." Krista's jadedness surprised him, but it also triggered his desire to share what he was learning.

"Try this, come over here and sit down," he told her, pointing to a place a meter in front of him.

Krista bounced over the rail with a maneuver he never saw a girl use before and folded up fluidly on the spot. "What now?"

"Close your eyes, think of a safe place, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now, again. What do you hear?" Luke repeated the words he heard only moments before by Ben.

"Children playing and someone calling, 'Moma'," Krista said quietly.

"That sounds peaceful," Luke said naively.

"You're full of bantha spit. That's what happened just before the black monster came and killed my parents. I hear it everytime I close my eyes. I wake up just as I hear the noise of their death." She bounded back over the rail quicker than she came and disappeared into the shadows.

Luke sat, shocked at her reaction.

"She's in a very dark place. It could be dangerous to teach her the things you are learning," Ben warned his new pupil.

"I know, but I think she really needs to calm down," Luke said sympathetically.

Krista saw Luke working on his lessons over the next few weeks but couldn't bring herself to approach him again. She wanted to know about this 'Force' he talked, about but she was so embarrassed at her behavior the last time. She never told anyone about seeing her parents die, mostly for fear the black monster would come get her. She spent the last ten years taking every chance she could to prove to herself she wasn't a coward for not running to their aid.

The eighteen year old Krista knew that there would have been one more burring sound and more burnt flesh in the pile, but she couldn't convince her eight year old self of that.

'Tonight, I am going up and talk to him; if he's there. I haven't run from anything in ten years and I am not running from my own stupidity…If he's there.'

Krista rounded the corner and heard Luke talking to someone, as usual; some unseen person. She bounded over the rail and asked much too forcefully. "Why are you talking to an Alderaanian Palm fruit?" Now she was embarrassed.

Luke calmly told her, after he junped about two meters. "I wasn't talking to the fruit." He tried to find the right words to explain. "I was talking to my instructor, Ben."

Krista turned slowly to the right then back to the left until she surveyed the entire balcony, seeing no one but them. "Ben?"

"Yes." A very proper Coruscant accent said, and before she realized what was going on, a blue glowing person was sitting beside them.

Krista jumped. _'Must be some new fangled military holo-emmiter.'_

"May I join the lesson; I know I didn't do well on the last lesson, but I vowed to never run from that image again." Krista looked from Ben to Luke and back again.

Luke looked questioningly to Ben, pleading her case with his eyes.

"We have only one piece of fruit to work with," Ben said, glad not to have to say 'no' to the young girl that reminded him so much of another he knew so long ago.

Krista pulled a Corellian spice fruit from her pocket and placed it beside Luke's palm fruit.

Ben smiled his approval and started the lesson. "Okay, think about your respective fruits; think of the energy that makes up the fruit, the energy that surrounds it. Think of it coming to you and resting in your hand."

Luke's fruit wiggled and danced as if it was hearing music from and unknown source, but Krista's made no visible movement. She shifted her body then tried again, straining as she concentrated. The fruit made a small jerk, then squished, spraying juice all over Luke and her.

_'Ah, one of the benefits of being a Force ghost,'_ Ben thought as the juice passed through his image.

Krista pulled a clean shop towel out of her uniform pocket and allowed Luke first shot at cleaning up with it. "I'm so sorry!"

"You are not the first person to have that happen. Maybe you should try it alone for a while, for everyone's comfort," Ben assured her.

"That is why I use Alderaanian palm fruit, they're less juicy," Luke assured his fellow student.

"Let's call it a night; I think I hear someone calling you, Krista," Ben motioned toward the sound.

"Oh! I'm on guard duty!" Krista hopped up and bounded over the rail, disappearing into the shadows.

Ben looked at Luke questioningly. "Are you sure about this?"

"She's cute!" Luke smiled.

"So is a Kashyyyk thunder cat, but they're deadly."

Krista was in the hangar, storing the latest shipment of hyper drive moderators, this planet was hard on them, when she heard the princess and the training instructor arguing.

"Why do you always want to cut and run just as we start to need you?"

"Well, you finally admitted it; you need me," He said in a suave voice.

"Yes, as much as I need a swarm of Dantooine razor hornets in my hair," Leia stormed.

"Will you miss me, Your Highness?" He leaned in toward her, smiling his crooked smile.

"I never miss anything I throw at!" grin Leia shouted, threw a hydro spanner at him and marched off. "Go! We don't want to teach the new recruits to run in the face of danger," she called over her shoulder as she left.

"Wow! They must be in love!" Krista said aloud to herself.

"No! They are not," Luke insisted a little too forcefully. "What planet are you from where that is love?"

"Love is the same no matter what planet you are from. And my parents fought like that and the monster had to go through my father to get to my mother!" Krista raged, pushing Luke back into the X-wing before she realized what she was doing. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean..."

Luke backed up as she came towards him. "I just wanted to tell you we have another lesson tonight. I think WE need to work on anger management."

Krista's face turned as red as the insignia on her arm. All she could manage was a nod of her head, right before she rushed from the hangar.

Ben and Luke sat looking at each other, wondering if Krista was coming when they heard a noise and she bounced over the rail and folded up in front of them. She pulled an Aderaanian Palm fruit out of her pocket and smiled sheepishly at Luke. "Just in case."

"Luke suggested we work on dealing with our emotions," Ben said, trying not to sound accusatory.

"As I said earlier, I have stopped running from my mistakes," Krista replied, only slightly embarrassed.

"I'm glad you came." Luke smiled at her and motioned he was ready.

Ben looked at his pupils and wondered, _'What have I gotten myself into?'_

"Are you ready?" Ben asked Krista.

Krista adjusted her position and said, "Yes."

"Close your eyes and think of the thing that scares you most," Ben said in a calm voice.

Luke peaked out of one eye at Ben, thinking of the last time Krista's fears were dealt with.

Ben shook his finger at Luke, who closed his eyes again. "Now, give your fears over to the Force as if you were handing it to a trusted friend for safe keeping."

Krista peaked out at Ben. "Krista, is there a problem?"

"I don't... I have no trusted friends," Krista said in a quiet voice that sounded more like a small child that the strong young woman in front of them.

"You trust me, don't you?" Luke asked.

She thought for a long time then softly said, "Yes."

"The Force is much more trustworthy than Luke," Ben insisted.

"Hey!" Luke frowned at Ben's now flustered image.

"I mean the Force is more trustworthy than any one person." Ben was relieved when Luke relaxed and smiled.

"That's better."

"Close your eyes and trust the Force. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly; now, breath in again and out slowly. Do you feel the calm?" Ben could feel her fears fade but not go away completely. "I want you two to practice this several times a day and when you experience fear. That is all tonight. Krista, you did very well; no one was injured in the least in this lesson," Ben teased.

"Yes, I am improving," she teased back.

Krista watched as ship after ship came and went, looking for alternate sights for new bases. The Imperial droids were relentless in their search for the Rebels and they had a way of finding them that seemed beyond normal.

The base commander knew Krista could pilot most of the ships on base yet he refused to assign her on a long mission. He had witnessed many of her night terrors over the years since she started hanging around his base looking for work for food after her parents died. She could repair anything that broke and would have a commission as an officer if it weren't for her temper and her sleeplessness getting her in trouble.

Algis was aware of her feelings of guilt over her parents death and knew she wouldn't be able to send anyone to their death, which was always a possibility for assignments in this day.

He noticed the friendship between Luke and Krista develop, saw the changes in her attitude and was even aware she was sleeping better; no more alarms in the middle of the night. He mulled over a request from Luke that she accompany him on a mission, but finally he agreed.

"Krista, could you come to my office; I have an assignment for you," he called to her across the hangar bay.

"Yes, General Algis?" Krista snapped to attention after she closed the door behind her.

"I noticed you are doing better lately, no midnight fire drills, and I was wondering if you feel up to going on a mission. You have been requested to accompany Luke Skywalker on a mission to search for a new base, in case this one is compromised."

"Yes, sir, I am ready for a mission. I have been practicing some calming techniques and they are working quite well."

"Here is a requisition for a flight suit. It will be good to see you in something besides that mechanic's uniform. Now hurry and pack a travel kit; he is waiting," Algis ordered and watcher her attitude change as she rushed out and made preparations to leave.

A few minutes later she ran by, dressed in her flight suit and carrying a travel pack bursting at the seams with necessities. He heard her apologize to R2 for hitting him with her pack as she climbed in the scout ship beside Luke. He felt like a mother bird pushing her chick out of the nest and hoped she was prepared to fly.

**TBC**

**AN: **This was my first attempt at a Saga story. I hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** I would like to thank **BrentusofGath** for beta-ing this.

**Part Two**

Krista was glad Algis trusted her enough to finally send her on a mission. They were checking out an ice planet Luke discovered earlier as a possible base sight; from the description, it would be the last place the Imperial forces would look for them. Luke was in a sleep cycle and as usual Krista was wide-awake.

She sat quietly in the copilot's seat looking at the stars, this was her favorite part of flying. The emptiness of space always seemed like home to her and today was no exception. This was her first time being this far out on the rim and the tranquillity made her brave.

_'Breath in as much air as you can. Now, slowly breathe out; let all your air out and all your fears with it. Think about the sight of him coming into the room. The horrible breathing sound he made.'_

"You are doing much better." Ben said, then realized she wasn't aware he was there.

"I was until you scared me half to death."

"Sorry, I thought you saw me during your last breath," Ben apologized.

"No! I was thinking about... well, I was forcing myself to think about the one thing that scares me; to help me overcome my fears."

"Brave, considering your earlier problems with night terrors." Ben was impressed by her initiative.

"What are you doing here? Did I accidentally bump your holo-emitter?"

"What holo-emitter? Oh! You think I'm a hologram! No, I'm not a hologram. I'm a Force Ghost," Ben said calmly, watching her reactions.

"A what?" Krista's disbelief was evident from her tone.

"I, and a few others learned to retain our personality when we return to the Force and are able to visit for brief periods of time."

"You're dead! How ...?"

"About a year ago when Luke and Leia were getting the plans for the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance, I died at the hands of Darth Vader." He stopped when he noticed the mention of Darth Vader drained all the blood out of her face.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I just haven't heard that name in a long time. He was the one who killed my parents."

"Was one of your parents a Jedi? Maybe I knew them."

"My mother. She was injured by the clones during the betrayal and my father took her in and nursed her back to health. They fled to a small outpost but 'he' found them and killed them."

"I'm sorry," Ben said with a sadness beyond words at the thought of everyone that was lost. "What was her name?"

"I don't know. They were afraid to tell me, for fear of 'him'. It was as if they thought if they said it, 'he' would hear them," Krista said softly. "I can't even mourn her by her real name. I hate everything he is, was and ever did."

Ben looked back at Luke sleeping and said, "Not everything a person produces is bad."

"We won't wake him up. He sleeps like a rock," Krista said, misinterpreting his gesture.

Ben smiled sadly at the misunderstanding but thought it was for the best.

"Did I understand correctly that you saw it happen?" Ben asked carefully.

"Yes, I was playing a hide and find game when he came in. My friend saw it too and screamed. He thought she was me and killed her in my place. The stormtroopers took them away, then I ran out into the night and have been running every since. I started hanging around the base, doing odd jobs for food and learning to repair ships, but I didn't tell anyone who I was or what I saw. I just know one day he will find me and kill me, too."

Ben winced at the thought of the boy he raised and loved doing such a detestable thing. "I hope one day you will find peace."

"If I see him dead, I will." Krista said, more devoid of feeling than he ever heard in a young girl before.

"Hey! You started without me!" Luke said rubbing his eyes. "What's up?"

"Just a friendly talk to get to know each other better." Ben assured Luke he wasn't being left out. "Krista was working on her calming techniques and I complimented her on her progress."

"She is doing much better; she only woke me up screaming once on this trip. What are we going to work on tonight?" He asked as he stretched, then folded up on the floor facing them.

"I think for now, you two are doing well to work on the things you have started. I will stop by later with the next lesson. Krista has been through enough for one night."

Ben started to fade when Krista insisted. "Ben!"

"What?" Ben reappeared.

"Is my mother one of the ...?" She motioned at him.

"No, I'm sorry." He saw the sadness in her eyes as she resigned herself to the loss of her mother again.

After Ben vanished, Luke asked, "Did you have a good visit?" He tried not to feel jealous at Krista's extra time with Ben.

"Yes, you could have told me he was a Force Ghost. I thought he was using a new fangled holo-communication device." Krista scolded Luke.

"I wasn't aware you didn't know." Luke apologized. "You asked about your mother; did Ben know her?"

"I don't know. I don't know her real name," Krista said sadly.

/ **_Jette Boyne,_** / Krista and Luke heard the familiar Coruscant accent call out proudly through the Force.

Luke watched as Krista mouthed the name silently over and over as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to say the name out loud, out of fear and respect for her parents' wishes.

/ _I knew her well. A mean little thing with a Jedi mind trick._ /

"A Jedi mind trick?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

/ _Next lesson._ / Ben said.

The nav-computer alarm sounded; they were about to drop out of hyper-space, then the mechanical voice announced, "Destination: Hoth."

**oOo **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **I would like to thank** BrentusofGath** for beta-ing.

**Part Three:** **Terror renewed**

Luke beat and banged on the coupling, trying to get them loose, while Krista sat shivering behind him. "Without that coupling we are not going to get this thing off the ground."

"I know," Luke snapped, losing focus and skinning his half frozen fingers.

"I could do that faster, you know; it's a job for finesse, not brute strength." Krista appealed to him to let her try.

She was at it for over an hour before it finally loosened, only to find the lubricant inside frozen solid. "Oh bantha spit, the stuff we're supposed to use for this weather is green, this is red. We aren't going anywhere in this piece of junk. Two more icicles on this forsaken planet."

"I told the head tech we were going to a cold planet and to prepare the ship accordingly," Luke fumed.

"You told Benar, that's the problem; he is too self absorbed to think about anything but his hair. Besides, he's colorblind. It doesn't help his family tree has no branches." Krista ran on half under her breath to herself and half to Luke.

"I'll get on the comm-link and see if we can get some help. It's going to be a long cold wait though."

* * *

Luke came back from the cockpit to find Krista making a nest in one of the supply closets with insulation from the cargo bay, spare cold suits, thermal blankets and even a pink blanket with cartoon furry animals on it. 

"Are you sure we will both fit in there?" Luke asked naively.

"Who said you were getting in there with me, Farmboy?" she hissed at him over her shoulder from under the hair hanging down on her face.

"You used all the insulation and coldsuits. What am I supposed to use?" Luke whined.

"You were the one who talked to Benar about setting up your ship."

"He's the head tech, how was I supposed to know he is an idiot," Luke's boyish voice finally got her sympathy.

"Okay, but as far as YOU are concerned, I am a Wookie. No, funny business!"

"I noticed you haven't shaved your legs in a ...," he stopped in the middle of his sentence when he noticed her expression.

"They're sending Han to get us," he changed the subject. "He was going to leave last week but Chewie decided to overhaul the hyper-drive at the last minute. It seems Wookies repair things when they get nervous," Luke said, trying to keep their thoughts on other things as they climbed into the nest.

The fit in the nest was snug at best, so they had to lie facing the same direction and too close for Krista's comfort. "We could practice the Jedi mind tricks, they only work on the weak minded, but if we got any benefit it would be worth the effort."

"Oh, all right, but be careful which definition of warm you use," Krista insisted, "and why did you bring your lightsaber in here?"

* * *

Ben materialized outside the closet for a lesson, heard the conversation, thought better of it and quietly vanished.

* * *

Leia and Han dug their way through the new snow, following the sound of a beacon. They found Luke and Krista's ship and them in a healing trance, buried deep in the closet. Han noticed Leia's obvious displeasure at seeing them so close together and it disturbed him. 

"Well, don't we look cozy... and we were worried about you two." Han's annoyance was evident even if the reason wasn't.

The two snowbirds climbed out, a little dazed and confused as to where they were. "We needed to conserve body heat, that's all!" Krista insisted.

"Is that what they call it now-a-days?" Han teased, only to get a mean stare from Leia.

"I'm sure they were too busy staying alive to be doing anything like that," Leia said, a little to forcefully.

* * *

Leia and Krista sat in the dinning area of the Falcon while the men talked in the cockpit. 

"You do know Luke is a special person and has a distinguished career ahead of him. He is in no position to settle down," Leia said protectively to the menial mechanic-pilot before her.

"Yeah, and I have a career ahead of me; I have no intentions of 'settling down' either. Besides, what business is it of yours; you already have Han on a string, or do the women have harems where you come from?" Krista snapped.

"Han! I have no interest in him, he's a..."

"He's a what?" Han said, coming to see what all the noise was about. "I want to hear the answer to that."

"Nothing! I was just telling Krista how you insisted on coming to rescue Luke."

"I appreciate that very much, don't you, Krista?" Luke interrupted the fight that was about to start.

"Yes, Han, I appreciate YOU coming to get us." She smiled at Han, then at Luke then turned and glared at Leia.

* * *

A month later, Krista and Luke sat on the balcony, preparing for another lesson. Either Ben was late, or they were early, but they didn't know which. 

Luke was unusually quiet tonight and sat quietly, applying the Jedi calming techniques while Krista fidgeted nervously.

"Well, I see you are early," came the proper Coruscant accent. "I have a new lesson for you tonight. We are going to look to the future and allow the Force to direct us. I see Luke has already started with the Jedi calming techniques. Krista, you chose not to for some reason," Ben said only mildly scolding her.

"I..." she started to say, but he waved his hand and she closed her mouth and eyes and took a calming breath.

"Relax and allow the Force to flow over you; allow it to speak to you. Allow it to tell you what you need to know."

Krista felt a fog floating through her mind and slowly it parted until she saw her worse nightmare. Darth Vader, standing in front of Luke. Luke was holding his injured arm and Vader was saying, "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your Father."

The fog swirled, then she heard, "I, am your Father." Luke's scream in her head melded with her own as she came out of the fog and into reality.

She realized she sat in front of Vader's son and Ben knew it, yet he was training him to be like his father. The thought scared her speechless and almost motionless. Finally, her legs answered her commands and she bounced over the rail and ran to Aglis' office.

"I want on the next transport out of here!" Krista demanded.

"I have a cargo ship going for supplies that leaves in ten minutes," he said, puzzled at her reaction. _'Is this one of her night terrors?_' he wondered?

"I'll be on it!" She ran from the office and came back with her travel bag and an armload of clothes.

Aglis stood outside his office, hoping to get a better explanation, but only got a quick, "Thanks for everything," as she ran by, up the ramp and into the cargo ship.

Aglis was watching the ship fly off when Luke asked, "Have you seen Krista in the last few minutes?"

"Yes, she came in and announced she was on the next flight out of here," Aglis informed him, still in shock.

"When does it leave?" Luke asked, concerned by her reaction to the vision.

Aglis just pointed to the cargo ship disappearing into the sky and said, "She's gone!"

* * *

Krista carried her meager belongings to the quarters assigned to her by the second mate and folded up in the corner of the room, trembling as the words rang in her ears. "I, am your father." _'What was I mixed up in? How could I have been so blind.'_ For the first time, she wished she had screamed, then she would be safely dead with her parents. 

_**

* * *

AN: **This is the end of the challenge but my Master has agreed to allow me to fight off an attacking plot bunny so there is more to come. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. Thank you for spending your valuable time reading and possible reviewing it. _

Lea 


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four: Darkness surrounds**

Krista worked feverishly, trying to forget the revelation she experienced almost two weeks ago. She could barely blink without hearing the image of Vader hissing the words that terrorized her every moment since that night. She expected to find Ben glowing in her room every time she opened the door, so she wouldn't go there unless it was absolutely necessary. Tonight, it was, even she could tell it had been a while since she spent time in the refresher and people were starting to avoid being near her.

She peaked around the door of her quarters and saw nothing blue and glowing, so she ran into the fresher. The warm water soothed her nerves and encouraged her to spend her allotted water consumption. She wrapped a soft Corellian towel around her and another around her head and stepped out into her sleeping area.

"I half expected you to be a prune by now," Ben said, trying to start off on a light note.

"Iee," Krista screamed, grabbed her pounding chest, then scowled at Ben. "I knew you would show up as soon as I came in here. What do you think you have to say, that would interest me in the least?"

Ben smiled sweetly, trying to soften her mood.

"Forget it, that suave smile won't make up for what you got me mixed up in. You know who he is! Who his father is! You know one day he will come looking for him and you didn't warn me. Bantha spit, you haven't even warned him." Krista fumed as she threw everything that wasn't tied down at Ben's glowing image. Her furry exploded when she ran out of things to throw, so she took the towel off her head and threw it. "Oooh!"

Ben closed his eyes just in case the other towel came next. The sight of Ben sitting there with his eyes closed and an embarrassed look on his face struck her as funny and broke down her defenses. Krista laughed and said, "You can open your eyes, I'm not mad enough to throw that towel at you."

"I didn't know; you were pretty mad," Ben said, carefully peeking, before he relaxed and opened his eyes. They sat quietly for a few minutes before he ventured to say, "I would never have included you in the lessons if I thought there was any danger to you."

"But he's Vader's son and you know it and you are still training him. How could you do such a thing knowing what the outcome could be?"

"I know what his father was like before the Emperor got hold of him. Anakin was a good man. Luke is a good man; he could help turn his father." Ben said, almost to himself rather than to her.

"Have you dealt with Vader? He is no longer good. He's evil, if he gets hold of Luke, he will turn or be killed." Krista couldn't believe the wise man she once trusted could be so blind.

"Luke needs to be trained so he can handle himself when the time comes," Ben said, searching out his reasoning to ensure he was correct.

"You know that time is coming and you are throwing Luke to a pack of wampas. Tell him to run and hide, Vader can't life forever. Once he's dead, it will be safe to train him or some other Force sensitive person, but not now," Krista pleaded with Ben.

"I know you are scared, Krista, but now is the time to act. Luke could use a friend." Ben tried to warm her to assisting Luke. "After what you two shared on Hoth, I thought you would be more of a..."

"Hey! What do you mean shared? We didn't share anything but a closet. Get out of here and don't come back... go... now!"

As Ben slowly faded Krista heard a soft knock at the door. She opened the door and screamed, "What!"

The captain stood, shocked and confused as he tried to voice his concerns. "Some of the crew have mentioned, you seem to be having a problem with someone in your cabin, "he said, carefully looking around the small compartment. "I heard you screaming at someone just now."

"I was arguing with my imaginary friend Ben, or he used to be my friend." Krista looked up at the ceiling as she screamed the last part of her statement. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to get dressed before someone starts more rumors about me!" Krista slammed the door in the captain's face.

"Too late," he said. He turned to see half the crew peaking around the corner at the other end of the hall. They all nodded in agreement at his observation.

-------

"Pallac, I want Krista off this ship at the first possible stop," the captain ordered his first officer. "Until then, she is confined to her quarters, put guards on her door if you have to."

"Yes, sir! I will see to it personally, sir!"

-------

Krista sat in her room, cold and alone, as she always was, but now it seemed worse. She now knew the loss of a friend and mentor as well as the loss of her parents. _'This is worse than before,'_ she thought. _'Now I have two of them to worry about.'_

She heard the ship drop out of hyper-space and land. Then the guards knocked on her door and announced it was time for her to leave the ship. Everyone watched as she was escorted off the ship like an insane prisoner. The light from the two suns was blinding as she emerged. The captain tossed her a small bag of credits for her to get setup with. As she walked away, she heard him mumbling about Aglis pawning his crazies off on him and never returning to work for the rebels again.

_'I wonder, how is a girl supposed to make a living on Tatooine.'_

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	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five: Lost in Spaceport**

_'What is it about men that makes them think a woman can't repair a hyper-drive? It's a whole lot easier than making a dress or cooking one of those fancy desserts they are always fussing over.'_

Krista searched the job search programs on the spaceport data station. Security positions for women to do personal searches of other women- Extensive background checks required. Apply at the Imperial Loyalty Affirmation Society - "NO!"

Waitresses, Dancers, Bartenders and ... _'whoa definitely not! Next listing!'_

Seamstress... Seamstress... Cook... Seamstress... Cook... Child care... Teacher... Seamstress... Wife... _'Is that why my mother married my dad? Lack of job opportunities?_' She stood, looking at the word for several minutes then smiled when she remembered them sitting in the porch swing on cool evenings. _'No, she loved him. I do know now, why she made me learn to cook and sew. How about a tailor shop for men's casual clothing, that sounds simple... 125 Courtyard Square'_

-----------

Krista straightened her only non-mechanic outfit and pushed the door open. The overlapping scents of men's cologne mixed with the smell of new fabric and the musty smell of an old shop was somehow relaxing. Bolts of various kind of cloth covered the tables lining the wall. From the number of mirrors, it was evident men could be as vain as women when it came to clothes.

A tall, well dressed lady met Krista at the door and announced. "I am afraid you have the wrong shop Miss, this is a men's clothing shop."

"I know, I came about the add on the spaceport job search board." Krista tried to sound more confident than she felt.

"And what experience have you in making men's apparel?" The condescending tone only caused Krista to straighten even more as she answered.

"I made this outfit myself and I assisted in making the uniform for the... at the spaceport where I used to live," Krista said, flipping the cuff so the lady could inspect her needlework.

"I have seen better, but this is an improvement over the last six women that applied. Go back and tell Betsy I said to start you out hemming men's trousers. If she approves of you, you have a job."

--------------

Six hours, and twelve pairs of trousers later, Betsy pronounced her capable and the snooty lady handed her a datapad for her to provide her information. Krista looked at the information and carefully questioned. "I do not have a permanent address as of yet; is there a place nearby that I could rent?"

"There is a room upstairs. It's simple and clean and the rent will be taken out of your pay. Here is the key," she said, opening a cabinet and removing the key from its hook. "The address is 125a Courtyard Square and you may call me Madame Xavier. Be on time, do your work well and we will get along. Oh! No men in your room!"

Krista looked down at the datapad and started filling out the information.

Name- Krista Lane

Address- 125a Courtyard Square Mos Eisley, Tattoine

Home planet- Dantooine

Age- 18

Species- Humanoid

Gender- Female

Imperial ID# 974296Dan-56261

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Krista collected her things from the spaceport locker and entered her new home. Yes, it was simple and clean, except for the film of dust that covered everything on Tatooine.

_'How did I let myself get mixed up with Vader's son?'_ she thought again. She pulled a piece of fruit out of her bag and dropped, exhausted on the cot._ 'How did I let myself fall for Vad...,' _she thought as she dropped off into a fitful sleep.

------------------

Time on Tatooine was a strange thing; days seemed to fly and nights were long and terrifying, but that was the way with all things Krista.

Betsy failed to wake up one morning, whether it was age or the bottle she hid from Madame Xavier no one knew. Krista envied her the peace that comes with death, especially now that she was head seamstress.

Rumors drifted in with the customers and occasionally she heard names and places as she worked. Han had a price on his head and several bounty hunters were drooling over him. Luke disappeared after Hoth was abandoned and no one knew where he went. Some thought Vader might have caught him trying to escape Hoth; others said he crashed in some hyper-drive malfunction. Both caused shivers to run up Krista's spine. Leia was running the rebellion all by herself; that rumor Krista believed. Some bounty hunter turned the Wookie into a rug for Vader's quarters.

Today, news came that someone collected on Han's bounty and Jaba mounted him on the wall encased in carbonite. Luke was missing a hand from a fight with Vader. "Loving father he turned out to be. I was right about him," she said to the ceiling, often feeling she was being watched by Ben, even though he didn't reappear after her shipboard moment of insanity.

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She sat, working on a cloak for a questionable character when she noticed the curtain move. No one came back here but Madame Xavier, so she didn't even look up.

"Slept in any storage closets lately?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six: Midnight in the courtyard of good and evil**

"Luke!" Krista jumped up and ran to hug him, turning the table over and throwing her work onto the dusty floor.

"Wow! That isn't the welcome I expected," Luke said, enjoying the embrace.

Krista turned him loose and blushed when she realized what she was doing. "I wasn't mad at you; didn't Ben tell you what happened?" Krista's dander started rising.

"You know Ben, he doesn't talk much," Luke said, wondering why he was suddenly defending his mentor.

"I thought he would at least warn you!" Krista said, looking nervously at Luke's mechanical hand.

"Aah! That's what sent you fleeing into the night." Luke noticed her wary glance at his hand and remembered the circumstances he lost it under. "You discovered my family secret?"

"Yes, I..." Krista blushed. "I wasn't as successful controlling my fear as I would have liked to have been."

"I understand perfectly; I was a little freaked out myself. If it hadn't been for Leia, I might not have made it."

"So, she chose you over Han after all," Krista said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice.

"No! She is all Han's. She is more like a sister to me," Luke assured her.

Krista gasped, then folded up, laughing hysterically in Luke's arms.

"Once again, not the reaction I was expecting," Luke said as he was forced to catch her or she would have fallen to the floor.

Finally, composing herself, somewhat, Krista gasped, "That would mean misses-goody-two-shoes, misses-I-am-the-rebellion-personified would be his...," Krista saw the look in Luke's eyes and knew she shouldn't say the rest out loud.

Madame Xavier pulled the curtain open and gave a disapproving look inside. "You said this was business!"

Luke returned her scolding glare and said. "Yes, I am ordering a new outfit, I was just discussing the occasion with Krista. As I was about to say, before we were so rudely interrupted, I have an audience with Jabba the Hut. What would you suggest?"

Madame Xavier turned in a huff and returned to her bookkeeping.

"Not going, Jabba is not a kind host." Krista said honestly.

"I have to, Han is frozen in carbonite and hung on Jabba's wall," Luke said, breaking the news to Krista. "Leia went in dressed as a bounty hunter to collect the bounty on Chewie. We also have another man assisting, you haven't met him yet."

"I would suggest something dark and fear inspiring if it weren't for your family history," Krista suggested.

"Dark and fear inspiring sounds good in dealing with the Hutts." Luke saw the worried look on her face. "Just because I dress dark, doesn't mean I have to be dark."

"I know, I just get nervous thinking about him." Krista tried to avoid the subject, not wanting to make it worse. She picked up her work off the floor dusted it off and laid it on the table Luke helped her set up. "I have some black material we just got in from one of the inner planets; that would make an impressive outfit for you." She pulled a bolt off the shelf and held the end up on his shoulder. "I could have it ready for you tomorrow if I work late." She started taking measurements and writing them on her arm.

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Luke watched Krista cut and sew with the same single-mindedness she used when working on ships and wondered how she learned to do both so well in such a short life. He finally dozed off and dreamed of a young man and woman picnicing in a meadow. He rode a strange animal for her amusement but pretended to fall and be injured so she would come to his aid. It was one of several dreams he had about the couple he came to suspect were his parents; unfortunately their faces were always blurred by the mist of the dream.

"Luke, are you okay, you were making a strange noise. I couldn't tell if it was a laugh or a cry." Krista shook him, concerned he might be ill.

"Sorry, I was dreaming," Luke said as he woke. He slowly rubbing his eyes and sat up on the couch in the employee's lounge.

"I have it ready for a fitting, you can dress in there," she pointed to a dressing cubical.

Luke carried the clothes in and started dressing. "Ouch! You forgot a pin." He handed it over the door to an embarrassed Krista.

"Sorry, I was in a hurry and it's well past my bedtime," Krista explained.

"You have a bedtime now?" Luke asked, shocked.

"That's one of the perks of being so far from the empire, nothing but a few run-ins with outlaws happen out this far," Krista replied, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I like it; it feels very... Jedi," Luke said as he walked out and turned to admire her handy work in the mirror.

"Dark Jedi." Krista added. "The cape makes you look... never mind!" She couldn't finish her sentence and knew she didn't have to.

"It works for him!" Luke said. "If I give off the same air maybe it will help get Han out safely."

"Oh! I heard from a customer that Jabba has a new play toy, some woman who tried to rescue Han." Krista watched as Luke's expression changed to anger then calm as he released his anger to the Force.

"I have one request, in case I don't succeed in getting them out, would you try?" Luke said, not looking up at her for fear she would say no.

"I don't know what I could do that you can't, but yes, I'll try." She almost melted when those blue eyes looked at her and he kissed her in appreciation. Luke was as hesitant to leave as she was to let him go, but they both knew the Force wasn't with them getting together.

"Now go before Jabba sullies Leia's honor," Krista pushed him away. Luke turned and left, his cape flowing behind him in a way that caused chills to run up her spine. As the door closed behind him, Krista saw a vision of him sparring with a lovely red-head and him stealing a kiss between parries.


End file.
